Robert Elmer Balaban was born on 16 August 1945, in Chicago, Illinois USA, of Jewish, German, Russian and Romanian descent. Bob is a director, actor, producer and author, best known for being the producer of the Academy Award nominated film “Gosford Park”. He also made an appearance in that film, but all of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Bob Balaban? As of mid-2017, sources estimate a net worth that is at $4 million, mostly earned through success in the film industry. He’s also made numerous television appearances and has directed episodes of various television shows. He’s also written several books, and all of these achievements ensured the position of his wealth.
Bob Balaban Net Worth $4 million
Bob grew up interested in films thanks to his father who owned several movie theatres. His uncles would found the Balaban and Katz Theatre circuit in Chicago, which would eventually expand to include more movie areas around the city. This later lead to a group of television stations and television franchises. He attended Colgate University and later transferred to New York University.
One of Balaban’s first opportunities was in the film “Midnight Cowboy”; he also made an appearance in the original off-Broadway play “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”. He would continue to get more opportunities in the 1970s leading him to increase his net worth. He was part of the iconic film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” which was released in 1977. Two years later, he was cast in the play “The Inspector General” which would earn him a Tony Award nomination. In the 1980s, he appeared in films such as “2010”, “Altered States” and “Absence of Malice”. After making a short appearance in “Miami Vice”, he then had a recurring role in the fourth season of “Seinfeld”, in which he played the fictional president of NBC, Russell Dalrymple. In 1999, he became a guest star in the popular series “Friends”.
Bob then worked on “Gosford Park”, producing the Academy Award nominated film for Best Picture. Afterwards, he made a guest appearance in “Entourage” before directing the film “Bernard and Doris”. In 2009, he worked on directing “Georgia O’Keeffe” which stars Jeremy Irons, which led him to direct episodes of “Nurse Jackie”. Thanks to his continued work, his net worth continued to build.
Afterwards, Bob ventured into writing, working on children’s novels featuring the bionic dog McGrowl. In 2011, he was cast in the play “8”, playing Judge Vaughn Walker – the play was done to raise money for charity. One of his latest projects is the short play “Milton Bradley” which played in 2016, also in support of a nonprofit organization.
For his personal life, it is known that Balaban married Lynn Grossman in 1977 and they have two children. His uncle Barney Balaban was the former president of Paramount Pictures. He was also related to Sam Katz, the former vice president of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
